Willie Mack III will play on the Florida Pro Golf Tour until January, when the next round of PGA Tour qualifying events begin.MLive.com file photo

One bad round derailed Willie Mack III from having an immediate chance to qualify for the PGA Tour, but it won’t stop the 24-year-old Flint native from continuing his pursuit of playing golf at the highest level.

“It’s there, I’m close,” Mack said in a phone interview Monday shortly after finishing a practice round near his current residence of Daytona Beach. “I feel like I’ve been playing well all year, but sometimes it’s just how things work out. You have bad weeks and you have good weeks and it was just a situation where this was a bad time to have a bad week because this wasn’t just a regular tournament.”

Or have a bad round, more specifically.

Mack shot 4-over-par last Wednesday, Nov. 14, on the first day of the tournament. He shot an even-par 72 on Thursday and then finished with back-to-back sub-par rounds of 68 on Friday and Saturday, but wasn’t able to make up enough ground.

“The first day really messed me up,” Mack said. “It was really just that one round. I called my coach, Bill Baldwin (who is the head golf pro at Atlas Valley Country Club in Grand Blanc), and sent him some video from that round. He looked it over and we talked and fixed a few things in my swing and I played well after that. I think I’ve got it fixed now, so I’m ready to get back out there and I think I’ll be able to play well.”

Next up for Mack is a return to the Florida Pro Golf Tour, where he topped the “Money List” this past season. Mack will play in several FPG Tour events before beginning to play in PGA Tour and Web.com Tour qualifying tournaments in January, which can also lead to him earning his PGA Tour opportunity.

“Q-School is not the only way to qualify (for the PGA Tour), it was just the fastest way,” Mack said. “I’m just going to start playing again and I’m kind of used to that pace now. I’m just going to play in the tournaments I can and hopefully make some more money so I can play in all those qualifying tournaments in January.”

The Web.com Tour has 18-hole, one-day tournaments beginning in January which serve as qualifying rounds for its weekend tournaments and other PGA Tour qualifying events. According to Mack, tournament entry fees are $400 per tournament, but he plans to play in as many as he can to boost his chances of qualifying for PGA Tour events.

“It’s a challenge, you usually have to shoot a 66 or better (in the Monday qualifying rounds) to get a spot so I’ve got to keep my game up,” Mack said. “It’s kind of a long process, but I still feel good about things.”

Contact Ross at rmaghiel@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter @Maghielse.